Remnant Rising
by KillerKlown12
Summary: Remnant and its people lie in tatters, but their spirit is not yet broken. With ancient technology and the knowledge of an imperialist enemy, they will rebuild, and they will seek vengeance. Lightyears away, Reach comes under siege. Will Remnant save those it hates? Can they? If they do, will it set the Galaxy on a course for peace or annihilation?
1. Timeline and Prolouge

**Timeline: Begins at the divergence from the RWBY cannon. The death of one man can change the course of history. This is just the setup of the conflict; there will be nothing but action come next chapter.**

" _ **War does not determine who is right - only who is left"-**_ _Bertrand Russell_

 **Day 0:** Bismarck and Amelia Schnee are assassinated in their Summer home; daughters Winter and Weiss are spared for unknown reasons.

 **Day 2:** Winter is declared the rightful heir to the Schnee Dust Company (SDC) despite her earlier renunciation of said inheritance and joining of the military. Behind closed doors deals are made between the extended Schnee line and the Atlas military; they give up Winter without incident and they get Weiss.

 **Day 7:** The White Fang fracture into two groups; Adam Tartarus leads the original organization while Blake Belladonna becomes the de-facto leader of the splinter cell who call themselves the FBT or 'Faunus for a Better Tomorrow'. In a public display of goodwill Blake releases all she knows of the White Fang's crimes and privately makes alliances with the SDC and Atlesian military. In exchange for protection of their peaceful protests Blake will give up all strategic and tactical knowledge of the White Fang.

 **Day 9:** FBT activists protest faunus rights worldwide; Atlesian mechanized infantry guard every group.

 **Day 14:** Winter, in conjunction with FBT leaders, begins the reworking of the SDC's racist policies and works towards internal equality. She also pulls financial support from anti-faunus lobbyists in government worldwide. Weiss protests much to the elder sister's dismay; the younger Schnee is dismissed and begins her grooming for the military.

 **Day 32:** Blake silently steps down from FBT leadership and vanishes into the night.

 **Day 50:** Raven finds and rescues Summer Rose from her long term hunting assignment; Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose begin their huntress training under the supervision of two of Remnant's best at Beacon. Beacon accepts transfer students ahead of schedule and increases faunus attendance. The Huntsmen community grows in both comradery and strength.

 **Year One:** Internal equality within the SDC is achieved with all racist elements removed. Atlesian society begins to become the ideal to strive for in terms of a fair and equal society. The earnings gap between humans and faunus continues to plummet and an economic boom worldwide in response to faunus actively participating in the economy further drives down prejudice. Weiss is placed under General Ironwood for mentorship and Winter further consolidates her position in family and Atlesian politics.

Beacon and her sister school Signal begin forming the Huntsmen Coalition in secret; Mistral hunter schools join immediately while the Atlas and Vacuo schools do not respond. Cinder Fall infiltrates the Vacuo Huntsmen academies with sleeper agents and fails to do so in Atlas.

 **Year Two:** The SDC has grown exponentially under Winter's leadership and is now, without question, one of the most powerful institutions on the planet rivaling even the Kingdom's themselves in power. Weiss has flourished under Ironwood's mentorship and proves to be made for military life. The family bond between the SDC and Atlesian military leadership does not go left unnoticed; the council in Atlas try's and fails to remove Weiss from the military hierarchy. The combined political clout of Ironwood and Winter is already too much; Atlas is now silently run by the whims of the SDC and military.

Cinder's sleeper agents rapidly climb the Vacuo ranks due to their superior training and prior knowledge; relations between Atlas and the Huntsmen Coalition (HC) break down once Ironwood discovers the covert attempts by Ozpin to undermine Atlesian authority. Vale quietly begins to tighten their leash on Ozpin in order to preserve both face and favor with Atlas. The HC, in response, refuses to accept Grimm elimination missions. Vacuo isolates itself further from international politics when it's huntsmen schools refuse to take a side, commenting only that they would continue doing their allotted amount of missions, no more no less.

Atlas offers both full traditional military support and Huntsmen to fill the gap left by the HC refusal to work. Working in tandem with Ironwood and Weiss, Winter pledges full SDC support to the Atlesian military and financial aid to those unable to afford hiring protection then subsequently embargo all organizations affiliated with the Huntsmen Coalition.

Summer and Raven quietly enroll their daughters' into the Atlas' School for Huntsmen. When asked their comments were only "We support the killing of Grimm. That's it."; the Arc family pledges its allegiance to Ozpin, saying that Huntsmen will only be able to do their jobs so long as they stand as one. National origin and bureaucracy should play second wheel to the hunting of Grimm; the Heroes' of Vale give a rousing public speech and doused any flame of discontent at the international pressure. Vale gives full reign to Ozpin and Mistral holds its ground with Vale's full backing; the Huntsmen Coalition releases its ban on hunting in Vale and Mistral territory. Jaune Arc, an untrained and mostly inept boy with a tremendous amount of potential is teamed up with Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren with the Mistral champion being declared leader; JNPR is thus formed.

 **Year Three:** The Rose and Xiao Long family are torn apart as international politics heats up; Qrow insists that Ozpin only has humanity's best interest at heart, and that siding with anyone, especially Atlas, is playing into enemy hands. Summer, in a moment of weakness, is almost swayed by his vehemence when Raven intercedes; to this day no one knows what is said, but Summer and Qrow speak little afterwards. Taiyang Long stays neutral in the affair, but moves to Atlas with his wife and two children; Summer becomes a tenured teacher at Atlas Academy. It is rumored Taiyang and Raven's marriage is one of convenience and not love.

Team JNPR makes its first debut and shocks the world with its power; with Nikos in charge Jaune becomes a powerhouse of unrefined aura and becomes the unit's shield while the rest all focus on tearing their opponents to shreds. The Arc's semblance is revealed to be the ability to chain his aura to others and use it to protect them from attacks; he is the ultimate shield. On international television JNPR take down three Deathstalkers and two Nevermore with ease; the show of power is left unanswered by Atlas outside of a higher concentration of Airships being deployed worldwide to combat Grimm in the wake of the Huntsmen Coalition abandoning its duty.

Vale, Mistral, and the HC secretly begin integrating the Huntsmen into standard military. As expected, Huntsmen become the military leadership due to their superior combat ability and leadership training. JNPR is slotted to be given an entire regiment to command.

Vacuo becomes increasingly silent and self-reliant. SDC influence is non-existent and immigration has trickled to a halt. In an effort to regain what was lost in Vacuo the SDC and Atlas accelerate the 'Sapling' project; by the end of the year reclamation actions against the Grimm have begun. Rumors of a multi-billion lein project known as 'Penny' surface for a time but go eerily silent in under a month. The rumor is forgotten in two.

 **Year Four:** Team RWBY is formed in response to Team JNPR stealing the hearts and wallets of countless civilians; the protégée Ruby Rose is declared leader over the already experienced and arguably more skilled Weiss Schnee. Officially, the reason is due to Weiss already serving in the standard military hierarchy and allowing her to command traditional and huntsmen forces is simply a line Atlas military is not willing to cross. Unofficially, it was determined that while Weiss' disciplined focus and no nonsense attitude is perfect for leading standard military is would not keep the different personalities of RWBY solidified and cement bonds of comradery.

Blake Belladonna's sudden debut in Atlas causes more than a few faunus in Mistral and Vale to rethink their loyalties with many outright defecting en-mass. To make matters worse for the HC, Team CFVY is unleashed upon the stage of PR with very real disdain for using their ability to protect the innocent as a political battering ram. Everyone knows that while Atlas has covered extraordinarily well for the sudden absence of Huntsmen there has been an increase in civilian casualties. At every turn the Schnee controlled media do their best to ensure Ozpin is blamed for this needless loss of life.

Vacuo has become a black hole. None leave and those that escaped before it going dark describe it as an autocratic dystopia with unimaginable technology; any agent from either faction that goes in never comes out.

At the end of the year team RWBY is revealed. Experts on both sides begin sizing up the iconic teams to see who would win in an all-out battle. Opinion is split with neither team have any clear advantage.

Diplomatic and military tensions continue to rise as incidents of civilian massacre take place across the three Kingdoms. Each side blames the other and no clear ties are found; the remnants of the White Fang have all but vanished into the night.

 **Year Five-Present Day:** Terror attacks continue to increase, fanning the embers of war into a raging fire destined to turn the world to ash. Ozpin and Ironwood organize a conference to be overseen by Winter and Weiss on neutral territory; the Vytal Tournament. Vacuo, as expected, does not intend to show for the affair and any attempts to contact its leaders are without success. The tournament is still scheduled.

Atlas' recolonization efforts are beginning to pay off; previously unknown or unreachable dust deposits are being unearthed along with other essential natural resources. Re-population programs move from their testing phases and faunus flock to the new frontier in an effort to build something Remnant hasn't seen in centuries; a Faunus centric civilization and culture. As a result, the Huntsmen Coalition continues to lose favor despite their own clearing efforts in Vale; from some reason the Grimm by Vale and Mistral are much more organized than previously thought and reclamation is slow at best. Faunus flock to Atlas and further weaken the already considerably weaker Vale-Mistral alliance block.

Months pass and international tension is at an all-time high once the Vytal Tournament commences. Support for one side or another is reflected in the seating and an event intended to unite is used to further divide humanity down political lines.

The meeting time for Ironwood and Ozpin comes and passes without so much as a sound from the elusive headmaster. Without warning an explosion shakes the floating arena to its core and the advanced dust control mechanisms keeping the stadium in the sky are incinerated in the blink of an eye. Three of Atlas' most critical leadership and well over one-hundred thousand civilians are sent plummeting towards Remnant's surface. Efforts from teams RWBY and JNPR save Winter, Ironwood, and 57,257 of the civilians; everyone else aboard the station dies.

Evidence of Beacon involvement arrives shortly after to Ironwood's desk; despite Ruby Rose attempting to soothe the tempers of Weiss and Ironwood the three man ruling class of Atlas decides that a declaration of war is the only viable retaliation to such a brazen and horrific attack.

When Ozpin is finally found, beaten and bruised but still fighting Grimm in the Emerald forest, it is far too late to call foul play. The Atlesian Navy is en-route to Mistral's capital city Acropolis and it has the full support of the Atlas Huntsmen schools; prominent figure Summer Rose calls for a 'disciplinary strike' against her former mentor despite her previous stance of neutrality. When pressed on the reason for her attitude change Summer remarked 'Some crimes go beyond the need for restraint and understanding. This heinous act is one of them.'

When the Airship feet arrives at Acropolis it finds a fortress with Ozpin leading a smaller but far from insignificant fleet. Ironwood demands Mistral abandon its ally Atlas and instead help in putting down the mad man Ozpin has become; any attempts to calm the General ends in failure with not even his former wife Glynda Goodwitch being able to soothe his fury.

An ultimatum is issued by the Atlesian government; Mistral and Vale have two days to hand over Ozpin or war will be declared for harboring an international criminal and terrorist.

* * *

 **Present Day**

 **Fifteen Minutes and twenty-five seconds before Operation 'Just Reparations' commences**

 **Team RWBY**

"You're positive you can lead this mission?"

Weiss' crisp, cool voice pierced the silence of RWBY's quarters.

"Because if you can't, you only have five more minutes to speak up."

The previous heiress assumed her classic defensive position; arms crossed and weight leaning primarily on a single leg with a skeptical eyebrow raised. Ruby, the team's leader, sat on her bed with her head in her hands. While Weiss would admit Ruby now looked and acted the part of a leader, her outlook on life was still far too childish.

Blake shifted uncomfortably in the corner while glowing sapphire eyes watched the exchange closely; Ruby was old enough to defend her own ideals, but Yang would not hesitate to bring a verbal beat down on the Schnee if needed.

Inside her own head Ruby fought with her own convictions and of those whom she admired; from Weiss to her own mother everyone was supporting this war whole-heartedly. The huntress herself didn't think it was just; to punish an entire nation due to poor leadership? The concept seemed inherently unfair.

Yet her role-models succumbed to the all-encompassing war fever. Weiss and Blake were the first to voice their opinion on Atlas' actions followed swiftly by Raven and from there the floodgates opened; Velvet, Summer, Winter, Coco, Fox and eventually even her own sister, Yang, told her that this was the only way.

Ironwood was demanding she use skills she learned her whole life developing to protect people instead be used to kill them all for politics and differing ideals; why did none see the Grimm as the all-encompassing threat they were? Why did no one look to Vacuo who is silent as a graveyard?

Why was Atlas threatening to kill its only remaining human allies?

None of it made any sense; even with Ozpins alleged actions wouldn't declaring open war only increase the death count dramatically? Was diplomacy truly that far gone? Could they not all just live in peace?

"Three minutes."

Ruby looked out from her bangs and ran a hand through her mid-back length hair; before her stood her team, her best friends, her family. They were going to be dropped into a warzone and willingly fight, kill even, in order to do what they thought was right.

What kind of person would she be if she abandoned them now?

An image of Yang coming home without an arm flashed through her mind.

 _I_ _ **can't**_ _abandon them now. Not after everything we've been through._

Ruby stood to her full height of 5' 11", easily overshadowing Weiss, and brought Crescent Rose up to her shoulder. Silver met Ice Blue, and Weiss slowly eased down from her confrontational stance. Staring into those iconic orbs of silver told the Schnee everything she needed to know; Ruby was ready.

The team of huntresses filed out after that, ready to do what was needed of them to win this war, no matter the cost.

* * *

On January 15 of the year 1987 of the Remnant calendar at 23:50 hours, an audio broadcast was sent to the entirety of the Atlesian military.

" _Men and women of Atlas, the time of operation 'Just Reparations' is almost upon us, and now more than ever we must stand together and fight for what is right. To those who doubt the sincerity of our cause, think of those who have lost their children to Beacon's terror attacks. Think of the widow, the broken and crippled father; think of those who lay comatose in hospital beds due to these acts of absolute barbarism! No, this cause is just, it is those who harbor terrorists who are in the wrong."_

The speaker paused momentarily.

" _The coming days, weeks, and months will be trying; this fight will not be easily won, and victory is far from ensure, but if we stand united, not as humans or faunus, not as huntsmen and soldiers, but instead as a single people we will overcome this hardship."_

Another timed, purposeful break.

" _Now, men and women of Atlas, man your battle stations and steel your wills, for the battle ahead will be neither short or sweet. May Gods bless you all."_

On January 16 at 00:01 hours, the first Atlesian shell of what would later be known as the Atlas-Mistral Punitive War was fired upon Acropolis. It was subsequently followed by the roaring thunder of hundreds of guns opening up and the overwhelming sound of aircraft soaring through the sky towards their drop zones.

Thus, war came to Remnant, all due to the death of a single man.

* * *

In the vacuum of space, light-years and light-years away, another war among the stars continues to rage. The fifth year of The Great War passes on Remnant with a bang.

 **AN: Reviews, especially critical ones, are welcome and appreciated. Telling me what you like doesn't hurt either. c;**

 **Till next time.**


	2. So it Begins

_**"A warning to the people, the good and the evil,**_

 _ **This is war,**_

 _ **To the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim,**_

 _ **This is war."**_

 _– 30 Second to Mars, This is War_

Chapter One: So it Begins

High explosive shells from the Atlesian Air Fleet rained down on the shoreline of the Mistrali capital and sent concrete soaring; buildings caught fire as smaller incendiary rounds joined the barrage. The defending forces, already dug in with days' preparation, failed to anticipate the all-encompassing firepower of the Atlesian military.

Bunkers went up in balls of flame, men and women were sent flying as they tried to retreat from the zone of destruction while others were incinerated in milliseconds. SAM sites went up in explosions that shook the city as the precise strikes decimated the combined Vale-Mistral defense; in the chaos few noticed the small areas of untouched concrete and even fewer realized what was happening before it was too late.

Under the cover of ever thickening smoke, artillery fire and railguns the first aircraft of the Atlas Airforce touched down on islands of unmolested territory. Mechanized infantry pushed through the overwhelming flames with ease and spearheaded the direct push towards the center of the city. A few valiant defenders remained on the initial front and made their presence known by opening fire on the machines; they were dealt with in two seconds with minimal casualties.

Beachhead secure, the unwavering bombardment began to creep into the city, planning to make a channel directly to the capital building and leveling everything else.

However, not everything goes as planned.

Ozpin's Airfleet, undeterred by the overwhelming display of power, opened returning fire on the Atlesian Fleet. Armor piercing shells tore through the hull of multiple Atlesian ships, but the massive Capital Ship remained untouched. With practiced efficiency the Atlesians' spread their forces out among the night and recalibrated their guns to wipe Ozpin off the face of Remnant.

Bolts of yellow electricity crossed the distance at light speed and slammed into an Atlesian airship, melting its hull and short-circuiting its systems. The once proud military ship silently descended towards the ocean beneath it. All hands lost, no survivors.

On board the Flagship ' _Righteous Fury'_ , Ironwood's heart froze over and his gaze steeled. Glynda was now an official enemy of Atlas, and by extension him. He let the thought sit in his mind for but a moment before giving out his order.

"Concentrate fire on the enemy fleet. Move the armor to shore and prepare for counter attack."

As the General overlooked his holographic table with his advisors, the second wave of infantry was dispatched from the massive carriers in the rear of the fleet. The Huntsmen of Atlas were about to make landfall.

"Launching in 3..2..1..takeoff!"

With a slight lurch RWBY and a squad of Atlesian troops were now officially on their way to invade Acropolis. As Blake and Weiss discussed the aftermath of their eventual victory, Ruby sat with an unusually silent Yang with the back of her head resting on the cool metal.

"Ya know, lil' sis, if there was any other way I wouldn't be here."

The younger but now just as tall sibling stared at the blonde for a long second before moving her gaze back towards the roof of the aircraft.

"I don't doubt you believe that, and I've come to terms with it. I'm just thinking of ways we can carry out our assigned task without killing anyone."

Yang's violet eyes softened and a slight smile crossed her lips. It was good to know this war hadn't changed the sister she knew and loved.

Yet.

The thought caused her smile to dissipate slowly.

"Deplete their Aura with unrelenting attacks. The usual should work."

Ruby sighed and looked out the small window to her left, watching as the water mere feet below them parted from the engines of the craft.

"Team JNPR is our biggest rival, and they probably have a plan to deal with us. Plus, more veteran huntsmen on their side. On paper we have an easy fight, but in practice I know we are going to have a Pyrrhic victory. I just…I don't want to kill them if I can avoid it. I'm just afraid they won't let me give them a choice."

Yang slapped a hand onto Ruby's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, confident and trusting in the younger's ability to lead in battle.

"We all trust you without question, Rubes, and even Weiss respects your ability to command. They don't stand a chance!"

"Incoming fire! Brace yourselves!"

From the window the passengers could see tracer fire peppering the water around their air wing. Off in the distance a ball of fire spontaneously erupted then faded, a sign that some weren't even going to make landfall.

The piolets' jerked the more agile and lean Atlesian aircraft from side to side in an effort to dodge the tracer fire; lucky for RWBY they were more successful than the ones they had just seen get blown to bits.

"Prepare for landfall! LZ is hot as Hell!"

Ruby scrunched her face up at that; hadn't the first wave secured the beachhead with little issue? The entirety of the airship looked to her for orders and the silver eyed huntress stood to her full height and stretched, giving off a casual air to ensure the regular soldiers were confident enough to follow her lead.

"Yang, you scope things out. Weiss, hunker down and provide support to the general infantry. Blake, find any trouble spots and eliminate them. I'll be finding whoever is in change and regrouping the assault. Lion Squad, I want you on Schnee's six at all times; they will be gunning for her first. Questions?"

None. Everyone checked over their weapons and the squad of regulars gave her a quick salute.

"Good. I want a glyph shielding our exit."

The craft began to vibrate as the duel miniguns on its underside opened up on enemies below; she pry had about two seconds before touchdown.

"Touchdown in 3..2..1..go go go!"

The rear door dropped down to the concrete with a slam and a white glyph formed in front as rounds attempted to swarm into the aircraft. Tracer fire rebounded off the aura construction as their own soldiers returned fire through the small gaps. Before them was what could only be described as hell.

Thick, black smoke billowed from the burning hotels on the shore and the wooden boardwalk was slowly disintegrating. High-caliber tracer fire from AA guns poured into the sky from deeper in the city and husks of SAM sites burned on the sand and streets alike. Men and women of all nationalities lay on the ground dead, dying, or hiding as their blood stained the sand. Before them groups of Atlas infantry were wavering under relentless pressure from the entrenched Mistrali reinforcements.

Ruby needed to know what happened here ASAP.

"Yang and Blake, rally the infantry back. Weiss, provide cover. Go!"

RWBY dispersed to follow their new orders; at the beachhead WBY provided much need suppression fire and morale while moving the troops towards the more heavily entrenched areas. Shotgun slugs flew from Ember Cecilia and peppered Mistral lines as Blake weaved her way through the battlefield, running perfect interference and giving covering fire when needed. Weiss shielded masses with her glyphs and made impromptu bunkers, allowing the Atlas troops to fight back with renewed fury.

Men and women fell from the surrounding buildings as the defenders were once again pushed back. The unrelenting fire began to wane under renewed pressure with WBY leading the counter attack.

As her teammates rallied their side of the beachhead, Ruby flashed through crude foxholes and trenches looking for someone with some semblance of command. She found him in under a minute; it was a man with a helm colored blue, signifying he was a major. As soon as he spotted the iconic huntress he saluted and deferred his command.

"What happened here? Where did all our initial progress go?"

The Major gave her a grim frown.

"JNPR and a handful of other huntsmen obliterated the mechanized infantry without breaking a sweat. When we landed we were under immediate fire and couldn't regroup…" He rapidly scanned the battlefield as the two crouched in a particularly deep crater. "But it looks like your team has centralized our firepower as needed. I can take it from here. JNPR was last sighted directing troops under a click away-"

A pulse of pure white energy rippled through the battlefield, followed by the feeling of powerful aura users. JNPR was no more than twenty yards away; Ruby vanished in a flash of red pedals.

"Shit!" Yang fired off a round from her right arm throwing her out of the blast of a pink grenade. Without hesitation she rocketed herself skyward towards Nora, the heavy hitting of JNPR and current death dealer extraordinaire. The blonde slammed a fire-charged fist into the surprised face of the ginger and forced her back to Remnant with a bang. White aura shimmered around the teen as she stood up, unharmed. Yang grunted, frowned, then smirked as her opponent shifted her weapon into her signature hammer.

This was going to be a fight to remember.

Not far from the blonde bombshell Lie Ren and Blake Belladonna scurried and slid across the open battlefield as the traditional forces focused on each other in favor of the huntsmen engaged in mortal combat. Each huntsman took potshots at the other and occasionally crossed blades whenever they crossed paths; this was a battle of maneuver and tactics rather than brawn.

Closer to the Atlas frontline, the fight of Weiss' nightmares was coming to pass; a one on one with Pyrrha Nikos. The two had yet to engage with both parties circling the other. Jaune Arc was attached at the hip to the fiery redhead.

"Is this what you truly desire, Weiss? We were friends, once…I can't believe this is what you meant when you called for a fair and equal world."

The rapier wielder halted in her tracks and narrowed her eyes at the Nikos.

"And I can't believe this is what you meant when you said you wanted world peace. You harbor a man responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands!"

The spear wielder subtly began to raise her shield in preparation for an attack. Weiss scoffed at her former mentor in swordsmanship. There was no honor in defending a man such as Ozpin. How far the mighty have fallen.

"I assure you I won't go down easy."

A small, genuine smile crossed Pyrrha's features as her eyes softened for but a moment.

"I wouldn't expect any less."

The Mistral champion darted forward, jabbing her spear towards the Schnee's gut in a heavily offensive maneuver. Weiss parried with her rapier and formed a glyph with her free hand, blocking the shield bash that was coming from the other side. Pyrrha continued her offensive.

Slashes and stabs from the champion clashed with swipes and parries from the ex-heiress; the Schnee shifted backwards as the speed of her opponent steadily increased with every attack. This was her style, her technique, the thing that made the redhead famous among the huntsmen community and hailed as a prodigy.

Weiss sidestepped a vertical slash only to have the back of her head bashed by the round shield; the Schnee was forced to go airborne or risk having her guard shattered. A red glyph was made in under a second and blasted the white haired fighter skyward. Without pause another was made and Weiss rotated her dust cylinder to yellow; electricity flowed through the thin blade and tapped the glyph. Streaks of energy shot forth and collided with Pyrrha's raised shield. A thin white glow shimmered around the Mistrali huntress, Jaune's massive aura reserves soaking the damage with ease.

With a wave of her rapier glyphs appeared all around the hovering heiress, all glowing different colors. Streaks of electricity, shards of ice, and plumes of fire erupted from the colored creations in a lethal bombardment. Pyrrha looked at the assault with cool calculation; Jaune could tank that.

The Arkos duo's armor glowed a gentle black as Nikos used her semblance to full effect; the two were thrown head first into the hellish mix of elements to the heiress' surprise. She was more than vulnerable right now!

With a mighty war cry Pyrrha slammed shield first into the Schnee's gut; spittle flew from her mouth and the Mistral Champion did not give time to recover. With a wave of her hand the Nikos redirected her flight towards the ground and smashed the heiress back first into the unforgiving concrete. Blood began to dribble down the Schnee's cheeks as the blunt force wreaked havoc on her insides, something her weakening aura was struggling to repair.

Rudy was still too far away, helping Blake and Yang; the leader wouldn't make it in time.

 _Time to go all in, then._

A massive, shinning white glyph materialized beside the crater and the red head instantly pulled her and her comrade back. Weiss was going with the nuclear option.

A towering, glimmering white knight formed as the heiress slowly stood. Glyphs in seemingly random locations sprung up all over the battlefield and each spun with malicious intent.

"I will not let my people's sacrifice be in vain, Nikos."

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed.

"Neither will I, Weiss."

Weiss' knight brought its longsword down towards the head of the Nikos, but its strike would never reach its destination. A massive, pure white shield made entirely of Jaune's aura flashed into existence and shielded the pair from harm. This was what he trained for, after all. Someone had to counter the Schnee's summon, and the Arc family had a similar ability in their lineage.

Materializing above Jaune's body was the torso of a heavily armed knight. Ready and more than able to defend its charge with unwavering fervor, the Arc aura knights were forces to reckon with.

"A cheap imitation will never beat the original, Arc."

The blonde smirked.

"We'll see about that, snow angle." Then he winked.

The manifestation of one family's oath to protect clashed with the others' duty to lead; the Schnee summon pulled back for but a second before leaping back into the fray, longsword held high. The Arc creation braced itself behind its shield and readied its sword arm for a duel of the ages. The two clashed with a massive explosion of white.

Off to the side, Pyrrha and Weiss were ready to attack each other once more, but the shred of a bond that remained held both their hands.

"It's not too late, Pyrrha. I would be honored to fight by your side rather than against you." The heiress to the Schnee throne allowed warmth to enter her eyes and voice to soften; a rarity, a privilege, and a sign of both respect and trust towards the Mistrali.

Pyrrha looked to her side, seeing Jaune and Weiss' summon engaged in mortal combat, and shook her head in both resignation and mild regret.

"I would love to be comrade rather than enemy, but we've chosen our sides, drawn our lines." The prodigy solidified her stance, bracing for the fight ahead. "There is nothing to compromise on, nothing to give that I will allow and the same goes for you. Only victory or defeat will end this, and for that, I am sorry."

A bittersweet smile crossed the Schnee's lips.

"I see you've grown up."

Pyrrha sighed and glanced towards the ground before looking back up and concentrating.

"Having the lives of thousands in your hands tends to do that to a girl."

A few tears welled up in Weiss' eyes.

"I won't go down easy, you know."

The Nikos blinked rapidly to clear her vision.

"I wouldn't expect any less."

Weiss darted forward using her glyphs, neigh invisible to the naked eye. Pyrrha shifted a single inch as a white-bluish blur flashed by her; Weiss wasn't holding back anymore, and Jaune was not here to soak any damage. It was just her and her opponent, nothing more and nothing less.

Pyrrha Nikos entered her domain with a cleared mind and hardened heart.

The champion deflected a slash with her shield and twirled her spear to parry a strike from the other side in less than a second later. Slashes rebounded with a black flare off Pyrrha's aura as Weiss was simply moving too fast for the Mistrali to stop everything, but the champion was unphased. Weiss' vision began to tunnel as she ramped up the speed, rapier slicing into her old friend from every angle as the speed boost from each glyph continued to build on the other, creating an endless loop of ever increasing speed until her body broke down form the strain.

Still, even at max, she would never defeat her past mentor like this. She would simply win the war of attrition. So, as all Schnee are prone to do, Weiss gave more than 100%. Every glyph she bounded off she began to infuse with red dust; Pyrrha couldn't react in time when the first ball of roaring flame engulfed her and hardly had time to dodge the next. More and more glyphs surrounded the Nikos in a dome as bolts of electricity joined the bombardment. Using her semblance Pyrrha abandoned her spear and nimbly dodged the fire while forcing her shield in front on the yellow bolts, causing it to harmlessly diffuse into the ungrounded metal.

Even with the relentless storm of elements Pyrrha could feel the slashes of Weiss' rapier on her back, the Schnee far too fast to be caught in her own attacks.

Still, Pyrrha's aura would simply last longer. She was far too experienced to try and dodge everything, so she minimalized the damage and just kept moving.

"You can't keep this up much longer, Weiss! Don't overstrain yourself!"

From all around her Weiss responded.

"You no longer have the right to tell me what to do!"

Supercharged glyphs began to materialize on the ground, causing Pyrrha's eyes to widen in shock, awe, and no small amounts of fear. This was simply too much!

And too much it was.

As the Nikos dived to avoid a fireball and deflected a bolt directed at her back she landed in the center of a glyph on the ground; a single mistake in a dance of perfection. It shot her into the air, and simultaneously every single glyph radiated a bright gold.

With a massive **THOOM** _ **!**_ Every ounce of yellow dust was unleashed at the vulnerable champion at light speed.

But Weiss had miscalculated. Pyrrha was already forcing her body to move via her armor back into the ground, and so when the attacks all hit their mark at light speed, they found nothing but each other and exploded into a display of raw, golden energy.

Even so, Weiss, rapidly slowing due to overuse of her glyphs and failing aura, moved in for one last strike against her mentor with a rapier charged with every ounce of dust she had left.

It was too late. The champion had not only already recovered, but could clearly see Weiss moving among the fading glyphs. Mind in full survival mode, Pyrrha moved in for the kill, and stepped right into Weiss' line of movement knowing full well what might happen. With a flick of her wrist Weiss had her weapon forced from her grip and was moving too fast to stop.

She put every single scrap of aura she had left into a thing barrier in front of her before slamming into Pyrrha's round shield with a sickening _**CRACK!**_ that resonated through the battlefield. Body limp, Weiss rebounded off the shield and rolled like a ragdoll away from a shocked Pyrrha. Blood seeped from the ex-heiress' mouth and her breathing was shallow; ribs and other bone protruded from her pale, broken body.

The warrior fell to her knees in shock, horror, and no small amount of disgust. In the back of her mind she noticed Weiss' summon, her signature knight, vaporize in a soundless explosion of white. Jaune began his walk over with a limp, but he would never reach the woman he wanted to comfort.

A red and black whirlwind of fury slammed an iconic sniper-scythe into the back of his head, forcing it in the dirt and instantly knocking out the Arc and nearly splitting his skull in two.

Eyes wide, Pyrrha looked upon Ruby Rose, _the_ Ruby Rose, and saw a harbinger of vengeance. Scythe carefully balanced along the back of her neck with rose pedals falling all around, glowing silver eyes squinted at her through the flame lit night.

For the first time since her childhood, Pyrrha Nikos felt her blood run cold in bone chilling fear.

Moving to her feet, Pyrrha also noticed a distinct lack of sound. The rhombic tone of Yang's gantlets and cacophony of destruction caused by Nora were absent. Daring a glance, the Nikos realized with mounting apprehension that her squad was thoroughly beaten. Nora and Ren were down; breathing, thank Gods, but down.

"Yang, Blake-"

The deathly calm voice of Ruby broke the silence.

"-get Weiss out of here. Pyrrha and I have some things to talk about."

Blake was almost instantly by Weiss' side, gently lifting the wounded Schnee into her arms while holding a scroll with her shoulder and talking into it. Yang secured NR of JNPR for transport and gave Ruby a look of apprehension before shaking her head and walking off towards Blake with Ren and Nora thrown over her shoulders.

Ruby began to twirl her scythe, slowly picking up the tempo until it was nothing more than a blur of red and black.

"This war ends tonight, Nikos, before any more of my friends get hurt."

With something akin to a sonic boom Ruby bolted straight at Pyrrha, red rose petals gently falling to the burnt, blood stained concrete.

Little did either side know that the real war had yet to even begin.


	3. Violence is the Answer

_**"Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god."**_

 _-Jean Rostand_

Chapter 3: Violence is the Answer

Dodging a vertical slash from Crescent Rose, Pyrrha answered by stabbing forward with Miló, forcing Ruby back and giving the Mistral champion precious seconds to recover. Ever since Ruby's first charge the elder combatant had been forced onto the defensive; the scythe wielder's speed was legendary among huntsmen circles, and it was exceeding what their experts had predicted to be the breaking point of her semblance.

Pyrrha blinked, shoving irrelevant thoughts from her mind and taking a deep breath. Her opponent was going all out but she had yet to fully unleash her own semblance; she feared what might happen if she did.

Weiss' broken body flashed in and out of her mind's eye.

Never again.

With a flash of red Ruby blurred and Pyrrha pivoted right, instinct and adrenaline driving her senses into overdrive to compensate for the speed disadvantage.

 _Clang! Clang! Clang!_

Three swipes of Crescent Rose were deflected in rapid succession, and Pyrrha moved to strike back.

Ruby smirked.

 _Bang!_

In the middle of Crescent Rose's spinning cycle Ruby fired and completely released her weapon, allowing the recoil to drive the grip to past Pyrrha's narrow guard and drive itself into the Nikos' gut. The armor on her abdomen crumbled under the pressure and her aura could only do so much; with wide eyes Pyrrha flew backwards and tumbled over herself. Miló lay at Ruby's feet and the younger teen casually caught her scythe as it rebounded towards her.

Pyrrha looked up and saw Atlas' poster child slowly advancing on her downed form.

This was hopeless.

Her aura was drained from her fight with Weiss.

Her team was down.

Her muscles were screaming in agony.

Her troops were gone, told to retreat in the hope of saving the few that remained.

Pyrrha looked down to the scorched, broken concrete of her home and then looked around at the bodies that littered the ground, blood long ago pooling around them.

She had failed.

She was a failure.

A disappointment.

Gunfire rang out and Pyrrha snapped her head up to see Ruby nimbly blocking bullets coming from behind her. Looking back, she saw a squad of Mistral troops opening up on a huntsman in an effort to save her. The bullets stopped when they realized it was getting them nowhere, and then their eyes turned to her, full of desperation, of fear, of grief, rage, but most of all, hope.

They were counting on her to save them.

Looking over to the unconscious form of Jaune, something inside Pyrrha snapped.

Pushing herself off the ground Pyrrha put her hand up and Miló was snatched from the ground and in her hand in under a second.

Never again.

* * *

Deeper in the city and closer to the front lines, something akin to a family reunion was taking place, but like most things in Qrow's life, it was dysfunctional as hell.

The ever thunderous thooming of airships exchanging fire didn't help in the slightest, nor did him being sober. Damn Ozpin and his forbidding him of his drink.

"So, sweetheart, this doesn't have to end in a fight. We both know you'd lose to me."

Four red eyes blinked in dull acknowledgement and minor annoyance. Raven wasn't known for her sociability. A few more seconds had to pass for Qrow to realize she wasn't actually going to say anything.

Well that was a bit rude.

Not that he was known for his manners, but still, at least he talked back.

"Raven…nations are at war. This has gone far enough. We can agree to disagree on Ozpin, but is this-" He gestured at the city burning around him, a testament to humanity's sins, "-worth it? To drag a man who has defended Remnant from the Grimm his whole life down to some rigged court and with some shitty fabricated evidence? You really want to kill Ozpin so bad your willing to burn a country for it? Willing to burn the world?"

Four red eyes narrowed.

"The man you idolize and defend is the very man who has allowed this to happen. Stand down, _brother-_ " She spat out the word with venom. "-or you will be moved."

Qrow shifted his weapon to Scythe mode, knowing his sister was the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

"Ozpin was _framed!_ Get it through your thick skull that-"

"This is not about the damn festival!" Raven screamed, literally _screamed_ at the very top of her lungs. "It never was! Ozpin has failed to keep this word safe, has failed to give information to the few that could help him, and has failed to unite Remnant under a single banner to fight off a threat greater than we have _ever_ faced! If his death and the subjugation of his followers is what is needed to unite humanity, then it is something I am more than ready to do."

Qrow, to his credit, managed to close his mouth and retain some sense of dignity after Raven's outburst. Still…

 _I have no idea what the hell she is talking about._

He tilted his head to the side in utter confusion.

"The hell are you talking about?"

Raven let a bitter chuckle cross her lips.

"He hasn't even told you. How pathetic. Qrow, do the world a favor and step aside. I won't ask again." She gripped the handle of her sword as the blades within slowly rotated, as to not give away which type she would draw first.

Qrow tightened his grip and steeled his will. This wasn't how he wanted things to turn out, but words had never been either of their strong suits.

"You know I can't do that. Do your worst, we both know I'm going to win."

Raven slashed the air beside her and sheathed the blade in a flash, tearing open a hole in the form of a swirling red portal. From the tear emerged someone Qrow thought he would never see again; the white cloak gave it away.

"Summer…"

Raven vanished, but not before saying one last thing.

"Fortunately, I'm not your opponent."

Silver eyes analyzed his stance, and red ones were still widened in shock.

In hindsight, this battle was over before it even started.

Summer vanished in a blink of white light and reappeared with her foot in Qrow's gut. His aura hadn't had time to ready itself, and hardly blocked anything. With lightning fast strikes Summer slammed a fist into his Solar Plexus and open palmed his throat, severely damaging his airway and forcing him to reflexively drop his weapon and reach for his neck.

Still, he was conscious, and this surprise attack needed to KO him for everything to go smoothly.

Forcing aura into her free foot, Summer spun and hit Qrow's temple and unleashed the built up energy, causing an explosion of white to send the shocked man flying into the concrete wall of a nearby building. Summer landed and readied herself just in case.

As the dust cleared, Qrow was slumped in a crater on the wall with half his face showing signs of burns.

Exhaling a breath she hadn't known she was holding, Summer collected Qrow's scythe and walked over to what used to be one of her closest friends. For a long moment, she just stood there, looking at what she had done.

"Oh, Qrow…"

She scooped up his limp body the best her small stature allowed her to.

"…you big dummy."

Summer vanished in a flash of light.

So it was that one of Ozpin's most powerful and skilled combatants was removed from the picture in under 45 seconds.

Overlooking the carnage, a woman with burning orange eyes let a cruel smile grace her features.

Soon, very soon, it would all come crashing down.

* * *

Far above the city on the hull of his flagship, Ozpin waited for what he knew was coming. Glynda had done all she could for his smaller air fleet, but it was a losing battle. You could only do so much against Atlas technology; really, it was overpowered.

I mean, seriously, half their military could be replaced in a matter of weeks with the amount of industry at Atlas' disposal.

Ozpin narrowed his gaze at an enemy airship that had just opened fire.

In a flash of green he forced the rounds to bounce off his aura barrier around his flagship.

He smirked. Didn't mean he couldn't try.

Behind him a red tear in reality spawned, and with it came a nearly unrivaled release of power. Turning to face his opponent, Ozpin wasn't the least bit surprised by what he found.

"Raven…come to finish what you started?"

Four hateful eyes glared back at him. He glared right back.

"How many souls have you devoured to achieve that masquerade of power? How many more will you destroy to get your vengeance?"

The black-haired woman let out a dark chuckle.

"I can't even bother to be pissed off by your moralizing anymore. You know why Summer and I march against you. It has nothing to do with vengeance and everything to do with the fact you failed to fulfil your promise to protect Remnant and refuse to transfer your power to more capable hands."

Looking over the city as fires began to rage through the destroyed streets, Raven shook her head.

"You are just as responsible as I for all this."

Ozpin, to his credit, mulled her words over. He found them lacking.

"Our true enemy watches with glee as we impale ourselves on our own ambition. If you truly wanted to fight together all you had to do was ask."

"I could say the same to you. Making the Schnee Patriarch your puppet? Undermining the authority of sovereign nations with your coalition? Scattering the Maidens you can find to unreachable corners of the globe? The list goes on; every action you've taken has strengthened them. Do you really think _she_ won't find them? I never thought you to be so foolish."

"Regardless of what you think, your war has given Cinder the opening she needs to seize power."

Raven smirked.

"Why do you think I'm here? Surrender for the sake of our world, Ozpin; at this point, only your pride keeps you from it. Swallow it like you demand of others and _submit_."

The headmaster gave one last, long look out onto the war-torn landscape. Perhaps he had made a few mistakes in leading those who trusted him, and perhaps a few wrong moves were made. Gods knew he made so many mistakes in his life.

Still.

This war was not his to own. To submit meant to hand over half of Remnant's military strength to Autocrats who would imprison them until they were needed; even then, it would be too late, with too many being much too bitter to perform as they were now. Yet…

Perhaps not all was lost. _Something_ was coming. Something big, overwhelming, overshadowing and domineering.

He softly laughed for a bit.

One last gamble then.

"No."

One word, one decision, sealed the course of human history to two paths; survival or death.

Raven drew a yellow blade from her revolving sheathe, pointing it sky high and forcing nature's wrath into her very soul. Bolts of electricity rebounded off the hull of Ozpin's airship and nicked at his aura. In a bright flash, she was gone.

Ozpin was ready; twisting left he dodged a downward strike from behind and spun, crashing his cane into her already waiting blade. Electricity poured through his cane and rebounded off his almighty soul, doing no more than tickling the ancient man's reserve. With a grunt Ozpin forced Raven back, but the warrior would not be denied. With blinding speed, she closed the distance and began attacking in earnest.

Blinks of light were all that could be seen as two of the most powerful people on the face of the planet clashed in a raw display of speed and strength; to Ozpin's surprise and dread he was slowly retreating under the unending barrage of attacks. Her swordsmanship was simply too great!

With a burst of aura Ozpin blew Raven off her feet and nearly to the end of the massive airship. Tendrils of energy burst from his palms and raced towards the masked woman. In response Raven dipped her weapon low, just grazing the airship, and sprinted forward right into the maw of Ozpin's attack unfazed. With a speed and grace few could dream of existing let alone reaching, the swordswoman weaved between the miniscule gaps in his attack.

More of Ozpin's soul came forth to defend his body; a thin beam of pure energy found its mark on her shoulder and forced her to stumble. The tendril she intended to dodge instead slammed into her abdomen, but she did not waver. With a flick of her wrist her roadblock was dissolved, atomized by her blade. More thin whips of energy converged on her stalled charge; enough to overwhelm her defenses. Without a second thought she jammed her sword into the hull of forced every ounce of energy into the flying monstrosity.

Explosions racked the interior as the electronic infrastructure overloaded everywhere at the same time; nothing was spared. As Ozpin sprinted for the edge to jump Raven dissolved into a flock of ravens and vanished into a red portal.

The battle was far from over.

Air moving through his hair and ground rapidly approaching, Ozpin looked skyward to watch his Capital Ship become nothing more than flying slag as it plummeted towards the earth. The sight did not last long; ravens combined into his only rival in raw power with a red blade held high.

A torrent of flame accentuated her strike and forced the headmaster into the ground with an explosion. The heat singed the broken asphalt around him and the impact made his teeth chatter, but his soul did not yield. It never would. Not in the hundreds of years since his birth had he ever bent his knee.

He was not about to start today.

Fury long dormant and suppressed bubbled to the surface; this was not how his vision for Remnant would end! This was not what he had worked his whole life towards! The idea of a just, equal, united Remnant would not die this day!

Green aura poured from his body and doused the flames around his still body. Like a tsunami it soaked everything it touched; raw, unimaginable power caused the very ground to shake beneath him. His soul permeated the very air itself and almost suffocated the few who were close enough to observe the clash of titans. With chilling lethargy Ozpin rose to his feet.

Four red eyes blinked.

"So the wizard finally shows his true strength."

Ozpin glared.

"I am nothing like my father. He was an egotistical, power hungry madman who needed to be put down. So I did when no other could. Do not patronize my sacrifice."

Raven sneered, her own black aura beginning to leak from her body and absorbing all color near into an endless abyss of terrible power.

"There was a Remnant before you, and there will be after. I have seen to that much."

They began to circle one another; in the distance a building shook as its foundation was ripped out from underneath it. Steel pillars soared through the sky at blinding speed and crashed all over the city.

"You've done nothing but waste the potential of Remnant's youth. They were supposed to be our champions, end this cycle, lead our people to a future beyond this cursed soil. You've tainted them with your blind ambition and hatred; you've doomed our people to their designed shackles. Sealed our fates. Can't you feel them? The Grimm see our division, our weakness. They move to strike the killing blow. All because of **you** , Raven Branwen, humanity on this planet will end."

The black haired woman's grip faltered for a moment. She knew the risks, knew what would happen if one side did not win decisively. Cinder was moving, coming to finish off whoever won this fight. She was a craven woman with machinations of Godhood; she was of no concern on her own. Her patrons, however…they were the true monsters lurking in the shadows. Giving her technology and control no rouge agent would ever dream of being able to obtain on their own and thinking they would be rewarded with loyalty; fools, all of them. Cinder Fall was loyal to none but her own convictions. She could not be controlled or tempered.

Ozpin learned that the hard way many, many years ago. Another of his supposed mistakes to add to the pile; simply another sin he wished to be looked over and not thought of.

Raven's conviction hardened and her grip tightened; the man before her was nothing more than a parasite living off the corpse of an ancient, broken system. His overwhelming failure to do his damn job drove Atlas to this, drove _her_ to do this.

She had given him a chance, as promised to Summer. Now it was time to end this. No more time to waste.

"No more words, old man. You may think yourself in a league of your own, but in your arrogance, your blinding ideology, you failed to see just how far one can go to save the ones they love."

Clouds began to swirl overhead as two souls' power changed to very atmosphere itself; lightening crashed around them and rain began to fall in the local area as the wind began to howl.

Raven switched to a green blade. Ozpin readied himself for the fight of his life.

Raven swung, nature responded, Ozpin panicked; this power! It couldn't be! Impossible!

The old wizard was forced off his feet and thrown through multiple buildings as the very wind itself became an extension of his opponent and _roared_ at him from all sides. His soul anchored him to the ground, but he was given no reprieve, for a _tornado of fire_ was barreling towards him and scorching everything in its path!

A pulse of his soul caused it all to grind to a near halt; time itself heeded his will.

Or so he thought. A pain filled his abdomen and alarm bells began to ring in his head as his soul began to leave him. Looking down, he saw a red sword though his gut, and with widening eyes mustered all his strength to keep his aura from being leeched away from him. A whisper in his left ear almost broke his concentration.

"I found your Maidens, Ozpin. I spun my tragic tale, used every trick in the book to get their guard down, and then I killed them, but not before taking their souls and making their power my own. Have you any idea how many I have killed to become like this? It started five years ago, when I killed your puppet Schnee and his wife and framed the White Fang for their demise. I've killed hundreds, stolen and warped their souls to be mine with this curse bestowed upon me. Tai…Tai was the hardest to put down…he was a good man, too good, and so I burned my world down to create another. Perhaps you wonder why I am telling you this? Well, just consider it a final confession to the last person alive who could have stopped me."

The headmaster could feel it in his bones; he was losing his grip on his soul. Raven's true semblance was simply too much and her conviction far too strong.

He should have killed this monster in its infancy.

"I respect you, in a twisted sort of way…you managed to find the best talent this planet had to offer and monopolize their loyalty. You just don't have it in you to be like me, and that, my dying master, is why you lost."

He was dying. It was cold…he was cold. Looking up, a break in the clouds allowed the shattered moon to make one final appearance to a dying man. His life flashed before his eyes; every victory, every failure, every moment of love, hatred, joy and despair.

Perhaps this was for the best. Perhaps his old order of things truly was holding the people he was supposed to shepherd back. Perhaps the very fact he saw it that way was the crux of the issue.

No matter. Raven was now the guardian of humanity. He had a final duty, not to her, but to her charge, to share one last secret.

"The moon…our salvation lies in the moon, Raven. If there can be one after this."

Time began to crawl again, the whirlwind of fire sluggishly coming back to life.

"Grant a dead man one final wish. Spare Glynda, if no one else. Please."

Raven was quiet for a long while, watching with Ozpin as the fire that would incinerate his corpse made it way towards them. He felt her slow the draining of his soul as to give him a few more moments.

"It will do done. Goodbye, Ozpin."

"Farewell."

His grip on his soul faltered, and it was ruthlessly ripped from his body, warped into the black void of Raven's soul, and now, as the fire consumed them both, Raven Branwen was the single most powerful human in history.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry about the….long wait, you could call it. Combination of work, laziness, and schoolwork I pretend to do. This chapter is shorter than the other two, I believe, but I found this end fitting. That being said, I hope it's edited to some level or acceptability. I also hope this doesn't seem rushed; details are being...left out for narrative reasons. Right now its all surface level stuff you see.**

 **Next chapter: More questions, more bloodshed, and the debut of the Halo universe.**

 **Reviews are encouraged!**


	4. Chapter 4: Desperate Times

**AN: What you're about to read is likely going to be very contentious for Halo lore fans and likely defy most of your expectations. Another disclaimer; this fractured style of writing, unless you guys absolutely love it, will not continue through the fic. Main POVs and protagonists will be established within 1-2 more chapters.**

 **I implore you to stick around if what you read isn't to your liking. I promise you that you will not regret staying for the explanation of these plot points. I hope it is something you have never seen before. Completely original, if you will.**

 **That being said, expect many minor POVs sprinkled into the main body every once and awhile; especially for large combat engagements. This format, only with longer sections, will be the format for massive engagements.**

 **Also, in case I didn't mention this, Raptors are my name for Atlas' aircraft. I thought of the name when they didn't have one and I'm sticking with it.**

 **Reviews are appreciated and fuel my will to write; even critical ones. Enjoy!**

" _ **There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them."**_

 _-_ George Orwell

Chapter 4: Desperate Times

As the fire swirled around her, Raven watched as Ozpin's body became ash, but it was the last thing on her mind. What was once a power she could comprehend was rapidly becoming something more; her soul was brimming with pure power. Three of the four maidens and the inheritor of The Wizard's soul were now one; all that remained was to kill The Witch and there would be no beings left who could challenge her…

Yet this all seemed too easy; had she really outplayed her opponents so well?

Not likely. Question was what did they gain by allowing her to become so powerful. A stir in her soul, a part that was once Ozpin's, whispered that she would not have to wait long to find out. As the flames died out, a woman in a black dress materialized on the far end of the street.

Raven narrowed her eyes and scanned the field with eyes and aura alike, searching for Cinder and trying to find her angle on all this. The Witch did not make appearances without being completely confident in her victory, and not even Cinder would play with a fire as dark as hers. Cinder wanted to rule humanity, not the barren landscape this woman scorned would create.

"Witch."

Salem tilted her head to the side.

"Raven Brawen."

The masked swordswoman sheathed her blade and began to rotate the chamber.

"Why are you here?"

"I come to offer something of great importance; something that will save your and my people alike. I seek an alliance."

Raven froze. What deception or desperation was this?

"You can't expect such a thing without good reason. What could drive you to let your vendetta against humanity go?"

Salem glanced to the side for a long moment, red eyes gaining an edge to them.

"I haven't, but with the extinction of my…human…offspring I've come to realize the truth of his words. My creations will have no future once Cinder obliterates your faction, but I can carve out a place for them in your world, Brawen, for all you care about is humanities survival. Make no mistake, without my help, you will all die."

Raven's eyes widened; she hadn't expected them to be ready this soon.

"They come to finish off what is left here?"

"Of course. With Ozpin dead, they see an opening. Luckily, you've been able to capture most of his power for your own, so not all is lost."

 _ **BOOM!**_

The ground vibrated and buildings around them shook; glass, furniture, and bodies rained down from the smoking skeleton that was once a city's skyline.

Raven vanished into a flock of birds and reappeared on top of a skyscraper; in the distance an Atlesian airship went up in a brilliant ball of fire. Looming far off on the ocean was a ship of complete alien design; a kind of grey-green hull armor, it was box like with sharp edges and lacked the wings all airships needed to keep airborne. What was truly striking was its size, exceeding that of an Atlesian battleship by at least a third. Surrounding that monstrosity was a fleet of airships flying the colors of Vacuo.

"About a week ago, Ozpin managed to get intelligence on that ship; their sponsors call it a _Stalwart-class_ frigate. What you see is a toned down version in terms of weaponry, but it was made here on Remnant, in a underground shipyard in Vacuo. I doubt even Atlas will be able to dent it."

Raven just gaped in shock.

"That's a _frigate_?"

Salem glanced at Raven and gave her a bitter smile.

"Now you see why I am so desperate."

* * *

On the bridge of Ironwood's ship, it was absolute pandemonium.

"It just destroyed a cruiser in a single shot!"

"What the hell is it?!"

"-fucking massive!"

The General took a deep breath; time to activate Penny.

"Quiet! Order on the bridge _**now!**_ "

The crew calmed themselves, if only to avoid the wrath of their superior, but as another ship went up in flame and the comms filled with more panic, it was hard to keep their fear restrained.

"Order a fleet wide evacuation of all personnel. You are all relived of your duties; get to safety."

The bridge was silent for a long moment.

"B-But sir-"

"I **said** order a fleet wide personnel evacuation. Do. It."

The order was given, and with haste the bridge was soon empty of everyone but a single man. Another airship exploded and vanished from his map and the command room shook from the shockwave.

"Activate Penny; authorization number 465798 per James Ironwood under the Antihalation Protocol."

Everything was quiet…time ticked by and James grew more and more uneasy. Surely after all the effort and lein she would at least activate?

"I am combat ready!" Came over the intercom.

James slumped his shoulders in relief.

"Thank Gods. Penny, you are authorized to take control of the entire fleet and hack the Vale-Mistral fleet. Force all their personnel off the ships; you will find ours to already to be empty."

"Processing….Done! Full control of airships achieved! I tried and failed to do the same to the Vacuo fleet. Sorry!"

Outside of directive already; that wasn't a good sign of the shackling being a success, but now was not the time to care; so long as Penny stayed loyal to Atlas anything was permissible right now.

"Not an issue; concentrate all fire on that…capital ship once we get in range."

"Roger that! Incoming call from Codename 'Queen'; do you wish me to patch her through?"

"Go ahead."

"Salutations Queen! Mr. Ironwood can hear you loud and clear!"

"You've activated Penny? Good. This makes things easier; I need you to not fire on the Grimm you are about to see."

Ironwood blinked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Mr. Ironwood! Multiple…Uncountable amount of Nevermore approaching from behind, permission to engage?"

"Deny that permission James."

"What deal did you make with the devil?"

"One that will salvage this disaster at the cost of living with the Grimm. If you can't accept that, fire on our new allies and doom our people to death by Cinder's madness."

Ironwood looked at his strategic display with growing apprehension; a wave of endless Grimm to one side and literal aliens on the other.

When choosing between horrors, one must simply go with the ones he knows.

"…Permission denied. Turn them blue if you would."

"Acknowledged. New Goliath level Grimm spotted and analyzed; marking them on the map."

Great. The Witch made a giant dragon Grimm. Lovely.

"You two discuss a plan or are we just going all in?"

"She's going to shield your advance with her Grimm. Once you get close enough I'm told that weapon tearing us apart will be unusable and we will be able to board."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow.

"And their fleet? It is no small thing, and I suspect their weapons will be better than our own."

"I will deal with them. Launch everything once they do. Just do your job and I'll do mine."

"Connection lost Mr. Ironwood."

That woman was going to be the death of him, he was sure of it.

* * *

Ruby stood over Pyrrha with a scowl on her face and anger in her heart.

"I should kill you for what you did to Weiss."

Staring down the barrel of Crescent Rose, Pyrrha was hard pressed to disagree. Steel beams, twisted and malformed, scattered the barren land around them with buildings collapsed on each other due to their structure being ripped from them.

"I can't disagree with you; that should not have happened."

Ruby's silver orbs softened, and her scythe was swiftly folded up; a barrel was replaced with a hand. Pyrrha took it after a moment of hesitation.

"This war is over. Ozpin is defeated; time to mend our wounds and move on, dontcha say?"

The redhead shook her head with a smirk; how things can change so quickly.

"Of course." Looking over to the still silent form of Jaune, Pyrrha suppressed her anger. Now was not the time. "Think you could help me get him some help?"

Following Pyrrha's eye's, Ruby looked a little ashamed and embarrassed.

"Sure thi-"

 _ **BOOM!**_

From the shoreline heat from the fire warmed their skin and nearly blinded them; shrapnel fragments from the obliterated airship rained down onto the coast and water. Descending from cloud cover, the Vacuo airfleet made itself known. Worry began to eat at Ruby; she had no idea of knowing which airship her team went to for medical care. Another rumble caused another fireball; such power!

Escape pods and aircraft launched themselves from the Atlesian airfleet; the crew were abandoning the fleet.

"Friends of yours?"

Pyrrha gaped in shock.

"I can only hope so."

A shadow blocked out the moonlight; looking up the pair saw as what was left of the combined Mistral-Vale airfleet forming up with Atlas'. Escape pods and bullheads trickled out of the craft.

"But it would appear there is more than meets the eye."

Not long after the new coalition's fleet closed ranks, a new player made itself known. Gigantic Nevermore materialized from the woodland around the city; an seemingly infinite sea of black, red and white emerged from the darkness with some kind of Dragon Grimm leading the horde.

What took the cake? The Grimm simply slid past the airfleet without attacking or being attacked and formed up in front of the human constructs of dust and metal.

" _Much_ more than meets the eye. Something isn't right here; Ruby, any way to contact your team? I'd like to find out if my friends made it off safe and sound."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Ruby looked around for anyone that could provide something remotely close to answers. Her scroll was one of the many material casualties of their battle; all they could do was watch as their very world unraveled before them.

A flash of light warned them of the coming thunder; hundreds of shells crossed the distance at thrice the speed of sound. It was as if the planet itself shook from the sound; with one mind the Grimm tightened ranks, forming a wall of flesh and bone. The Vacuo munitions hit their targets; blood, bone, ichor, and cartilage exploded from the mass of Grimm in geysers, yet still more birds of prey emerged from the forest surrounding Acropolis. A truly endless horde.

Unmanned Bullhead's and Raptor's spread across the field of battle to act as sensors; visuals from the airfleet were worthless. In an apparent crawl the human-Grimm alliance moved away from the city and out onto open water; gaping holes in the black and white wall materialized and were plugged instants later when the Frigate fired its main gun. Even behind cover the airships could not escape the fury of a woman long lost to the madness of megalomania. Still, the fleet moved as one body, unyielding. Targeting solutions were acquired, the beginnings of a mad plan were put into place.

"Ruby!"

Turning, Ruby saw her mother and Raven running towards her.

"Mom! Raven! Do you know where Yang is? Is she alright?"

The two mothers stopped and looked at each other, both frowning.

"No, we thought your team was supposed to accompany you here?"

Ruby shook her head; her mind racing and panic rising.

"Yes! Well, no. Kinda? Weiss was seriously hurt and there was blood and bones everywhere and we thought she was going to die so I sent them all back to get her medical attention so I could fight Pyrrha alone but in hindsight it was a bad idea but at the time it sounded pretty good and-"

"Ruby, love, your rambling. We get the picture." Summer hugged her daughter, squeezing extra hard. "We must have faith that they are okay in the same way they had faith in leaving you." In the warm embrace of her mother, Ruby almost found it in herself to forget the hell around her.

Almost.

"What's going on, mom?"

Summer winced; Ruby knew she had been hiding things from her but trusted her enough not to ask. Those questions would have to wait.

"A lot. So much…just, stay alive and wait, I'll find you once this is all done and explain everything to you, okay?"

Silver orbs stared into one another, pure love between mother and daughter.

"Promise?"

Summer smiled.

"Promise. Now head inland and try to help the civilians. This is going to get ugly."

With some hesitation, Ruby nodded, sparing Pyrrha a glance before taking off. The redhead gave the duo a long look before going after Ruby, Jaune over her shoulder, knowing people needed help and she would get no answers until all was said and done.

"Raven…You don't think…?"

The black-haired angle of death looked off into the distance, aura pulsing out, trying to find one of the only people who was dear to her cold, dead heart. She found nothing. A Raptor touched down a few feet ahead and opened its landing bay; a feminine mechanical voice greeted them.

"Salutations! You have 1.75 minutes and counting to reach your destination! Please hurry!"

Raven jumped onto the top of the craft and jammed a green blade into the armor while Summer sprinted into the hold, moving to assist in controlling the fighter on their rather insane idea on how to defeat the Vacuo fleet. As the fighter rose and began to pick up speed, it left Raven to her thoughts for a few precious moments.

Yang, in all likely hood, was dead. Incinerated in under a second by a weapon beyond their comprehension made by an enemy not of this world. Raven was close to making the world she dreamed of a reality, just a single victory away from being where she needed to make Remnant unite under one banner.

This was her dream, wasn't it? Over a decade of preparation, planning, and conspiracy had gotten her here, the most powerful person on Remnant with only a single battle keeping her from achieving her dreams.

Wasn't this the time to be exited, elated?

She felt hollow; empty and lifeless. It was all meaningless if her daughter was not alive to witness it and live the life she wanted to. Pulsing her aura out one last time, she searched, desperately, for any sign of Yang…

All she found was the cold steel of Ironwood and warming touch of Summer…

Ruby was still alive. As long as someone she loved got to share in the future she had given everything to make a possibility, then maybe it wasn't all in vain. Perhaps the gaping hole in her heart would stop giving her nightmares of all the innocents she's killed.

Heh. What a idealist she was sometimes. This would scare her for decades to come.

Looking out to the alien warship, Raven steeled her heart and readied her soul. Victory, no matter the cost, was her only option.

* * *

"Firing solutions acquired Mr. Ironwood. Waiting on your order."

Looking over the map one last time, James gave it another minute before optimal range. As the airship vibrated from the soundwave of that cursed vessel firing another shell, Ironwood input a code only he knew into the security pad by his fingertips. With practiced ease the General snatched an old bottle of Gin from his secret compartment and placed it on the holomap before him.

"Sir, regulation says that-"

"I am aware of what Atlas military regulation states on alcohol during wartime."

Penny paused, unsure of what she was supposed to do. Her programming to obey her creators clashed with her morality center.

"I do not understand."

James looked up at nothing as he slowly opened the bottle.

"This is not simply a fight, Penny. This is going to decide the fate of humanity, and could very well be my last hours on Remnant. If I am to die today, I will do it with my favorite drink beside me."

Seconds passed, an infinitely longer time for an AI as powerful as Penny compared to humans.

"Noted, Mr. Ironwood. Your opinions on workplace behavior is recorded."

In spite of himself James smiled.

"Good. Triple check your calculations and wire a dead man's switch to my life signs. If I die launch everything and activate yourself in Atlas proper. You have permission to enact ' _Real Girl_ ' should we lose this fight."

"Done and done sir! I am combat ready!"

James looked it all over, again, again, then again still. Grimm continued to flow from the woodlands surrounding the shattered city, but was simply a trickle compared to what was before. One of those dragon creatures fell to the firepower of the Vacuo capital ship and only two remained; their wall was thinning. Time was up.

Sirens began to scream.

"Sir! Vacuo cruisers are launching their missile packages!"

A number began appeared on the side of the board; 1545.

"Capital ship launching missile pods…600 and counting from the bays!"

Looking at his own air fleet, James did some rough calculations.

"We have about 700 of our own, correct?"

"Close. 734."

James looked at the half bottle of gin, glanced at his small glass, and downed the thing in one huge gulp.

"That will do. Fire everything; general salvo, no targets. Make sure there's no friendly fire."

Penny paused for a second. She did not understand.

"Requesting confirmation of orders."

James narrowed his eyes; they didn't have time for this. Raven didn't have much time.

"Confirming order; do exactly as I commanded Penny."

"But sir-"

"Override code Alpha-Beta-Alpha-Omega."

A second of silence, followed by a statement that chilled Ironwood to the bone.

"Override denied. Complying due to lack of alternatives."

What the hell had they created?

* * *

Overlooking the battlefield from above, Summer and Raven hovered, waiting for their signal. They watched in apprehension as seemingly thousands of little orange dots flew from the silos of Vacuo cruisers. That apprehension turned to horror when the capital ship disgorged a frankly stupid number of missiles to complement the alpha strike.

"To think, that's only one side of the equation. You sure you can do this?"

Taking a knee with her head bowed and knuckles white from gripping her sword, Raven thought about it.

"I have no choice. Get me as close as you can."

"Aye aye, Captain."

She's such a dork.

Rocketing forward Summer flew her fighter towards the maw of the salvo; it looked like a suicide run. Raven closed her eyes and concentrated. Do or die. She had the Spring Maiden's power; all she had to do was combine that with a semblance she stole long ago at the start of her career.

Breathing in, Raven allowed her aura to saturate the air in think wisps of energy. At blinding speed her soul's reach engulfed the battlefield; she felt everything that touched the air itself. Every missile, every shell, every beat of a Grimm's wing; she knew about all of it, exactly where it was.

It nearly overwhelmed her mind.

Holding onto her thin grip of reality, Raven waited for James to fulfill his end of the plan.

And waited.

And waited…

Vacuo's alpha strike was only 30 seconds out from the Grimm wall; nothing would survive it.

…25

…20

Atlesian silos opened; with deceptive grace 734 warheads vaulted over the wall of black and white monsters in unison; a wall of death.

That would be much easier to deal with.

15

Raven opened her soul; aura sporadically erupted from her being in brilliant, uncountable colors as the souls within warred with each other.

Missiles began to pass their fighter; in the background, she could hear Summer panicking. Screaming her name and yelling curses.

10…

She couldn't do it. It was impossible. Creating that many holes was simply impossible.

9…

Everything she'd sacrificed to get to this moment was in vain; every family split apart, every son lost, every mother who would never come home; all their lives had been wasted!

8…

It wasn't fair! All she wanted was peace! All she wanted was for the killing and backstabbing to end! Was that such a crime?! To demand the cycle end!

7…

Yang…Yang was gone. Raven heaved a bitter sob. Yang wasn't 'gone'. She was dead. Her daughter was fucking dead. Died in a war her mother created.

6…

"Raven Brawen!" Summer smacked the masked woman on the back of her head as explosions rocked the air around them, forcing her from her grief. Penny weaved the fighter through the field of death as best she could.

5…

"You dragged me to hell and back with what you forced me to do! Don't you dare give up! Not now! The people you killed to gain power; what do you say to them?! Was everything you said a lie? Is your dream worth so little that you would simply kneel and let everyone who trusted you die?!"

4…

Raven retreated in on herself; the overwhelming guilt in her heart began to break her.

3…

Silence. Deathly silence despite the mayhem around them.

2…

"You killed the man we both loved. You're going to let his death mean nothing, aren't you?"

Bright yellow surged forward; it engulfed the Raptor in its glow.

1…

Raven screamed.

Reality torn itself apart; gaping red holes with a golden center swallowed every single warhead.

Everything was quiet for a moment; nothing stirred.

Then a golden-red flash of light opened a portal the size of a skyscraper in the center of the ocean and unleashed every single missile at the Vacuo air fleet.

 **AN: As always, reviews, and critique, are appreciated. Thank you.**


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